Church Burned in
Latest of Zanzibar Attacks Open Doors (thanks to Claude)

Arsonists in Zanzibar burned a church on
Feb. 19; just two days after gunmen killed a
priest there. Recent clashes with Islam have
left believers in the otherwise peaceful
Eastern African nation of Tanzania concerned
over the future of religious freedom.

Recent incidents of violence against Christian ministers and churches
in Tanzania have left believers in the Eastern African nation concerned
over the future of religious freedom.

On an otherwise quiet
Sunday morning on the island of Zanzibar, two gunmen waited for Father
Evaristus Mushi as he parked outside the Betras Church in St Joseph’s
parish where he was preparing to celebrate the first Sunday mass of
Lent. They surrounded the car and killed him inside the vehicle before
fleeing on a motorcycle. Mushi was rushed to a nearby hospital where he
was pronounced dead. Islanders knew Fr. Mushi as a philanthropist and
advocate for interfaith dialogue. Police have arrested three suspects in
connection with the February 17 murder, but their motive remains
unknown.

Two days later, in the city of Kianga on Zanzibar
Island, a police spokesman reported to World Watch Monitor that
unidentified arsonists set fire to the Evangelical Church of Siloam. No
one was hurt and the fire was extinguished. The church was being rebuilt
following an attack in January 2012.

‘‘Tanzania is a peaceful
country, but a small group of extremists with outside influence want to
spoil it,’’ Bishop Methodius Kilaini told World Watch Monitor. These
incidents are the latest in a string of attacks on church leaders and
Christian property across the country.

Earlier in the month, on
mainland Tanzania, Assemblies of God minister Pastor Mathayo Kachili
was hacked to death in Geita, on the southern shores of Lake Victoria,
when he intervened in an altercation between villagers over the
slaughter of an animal. According to sources, a group of Muslims had
demanded immediate closure of butcheries owned by Christians. From the
information Open Doors could gather, the demand seemed to be based on a
longstanding tradition, together with a local government directive, that
gave Muslims the sole right to act as butchers. Recently however,
Christians in Geita district have entered the butcher trade. The recent
violence began when the church hired a non-Muslim butcher to prepare
meat to be served at a funeral. When the Muslims heard about this, they
went on a rampage against the church and Pastor Kachili was killed in
the melee.

In a separate incident two months ago, on the
Christmas Day, unidentified gunmen shot and seriously wounded a Catholic
priest, Ambrose Mkenda, in the Tomondo area of Zanzibar Island.

The
rise of violence has social and economic motivations, according to
Dismass Lyassa, a Social Editor at the Mwananchi Newspaper in Tanzania.
“Poor Muslim coastal areas in Kenya and Tanzania have proved fertile
recruitment ground for Somalia’s al-Shabab militants,” Lyassa said.
Additionally, the threat of terrorist violence in Zanzibar has grown in
recent years with the rise of a group called the Association for Islamic
Mobilization and Propagation, also known as Uamsho, a Swahili word
meaning “awakening.” Originally founded in 2001 as a charitable
organization, Uamsho has evolved into a strong opponent of the perceived
excesses of tourists on the archipelago, as well as an advocate for
Zanzibar secession. Some Muslims, Lyassa reported, point to the
widespread closure of government offices on Sundays as evidence that
Christians have forced their religion on the country. For Muslims,
Friday is the traditional day of prayer.

On the recently
released 2013 World Watch List of countries where the persecution of
Christians is most severe, Tanzania is ranked No. 24. Though Tanzania as
a whole is 60 percent Christian and 36 percent Muslim, on
semi-autonomous Zanzibar Island, more than 97 percent of residents are
Muslim. In recent months, violence against the tiny Christian minority
on the island has been increasing.

Comments

#MyJihad in Zanzibar: Church Burned in Latest of Muslim Attacks

Here's the latest on the escalation of jihad in Tanzania.

Church Burned in
Latest of Zanzibar Attacks Open Doors (thanks to Claude)

Arsonists in Zanzibar burned a church on
Feb. 19; just two days after gunmen killed a
priest there. Recent clashes with Islam have
left believers in the otherwise peaceful
Eastern African nation of Tanzania concerned
over the future of religious freedom.

Recent incidents of violence against Christian ministers and churches
in Tanzania have left believers in the Eastern African nation concerned
over the future of religious freedom.

On an otherwise quiet
Sunday morning on the island of Zanzibar, two gunmen waited for Father
Evaristus Mushi as he parked outside the Betras Church in St Joseph’s
parish where he was preparing to celebrate the first Sunday mass of
Lent. They surrounded the car and killed him inside the vehicle before
fleeing on a motorcycle. Mushi was rushed to a nearby hospital where he
was pronounced dead. Islanders knew Fr. Mushi as a philanthropist and
advocate for interfaith dialogue. Police have arrested three suspects in
connection with the February 17 murder, but their motive remains
unknown.

Two days later, in the city of Kianga on Zanzibar
Island, a police spokesman reported to World Watch Monitor that
unidentified arsonists set fire to the Evangelical Church of Siloam. No
one was hurt and the fire was extinguished. The church was being rebuilt
following an attack in January 2012.

‘‘Tanzania is a peaceful
country, but a small group of extremists with outside influence want to
spoil it,’’ Bishop Methodius Kilaini told World Watch Monitor. These
incidents are the latest in a string of attacks on church leaders and
Christian property across the country.

Earlier in the month, on
mainland Tanzania, Assemblies of God minister Pastor Mathayo Kachili
was hacked to death in Geita, on the southern shores of Lake Victoria,
when he intervened in an altercation between villagers over the
slaughter of an animal. According to sources, a group of Muslims had
demanded immediate closure of butcheries owned by Christians. From the
information Open Doors could gather, the demand seemed to be based on a
longstanding tradition, together with a local government directive, that
gave Muslims the sole right to act as butchers. Recently however,
Christians in Geita district have entered the butcher trade. The recent
violence began when the church hired a non-Muslim butcher to prepare
meat to be served at a funeral. When the Muslims heard about this, they
went on a rampage against the church and Pastor Kachili was killed in
the melee.